The Man With No Name

Detectivisim

I am inventing a new religion/philosophy for myself. It is called Detectivism.

What we look for in a religion/philosophy is something to guide our life and choices, so we don’t feel arbitrary. Arbitrariness is scary for most people. Purpose is comfortable. We don’t always have a sense of purpose, but a religion/philosophy serves as a good stand-in at those times.

Every once in a while we are certain about what our next step is. Or even our next steps. You may call it a message from the universe, or a calling from God. I call it a Clue.

I think it’s better to look at it as a clue, because it sidesteps several potential problems. Callings and Messages are too destination-oriented. People get desperate about purpose. And it’s a huge set-up. Say you are overwhelmed with a huge rushing of certainty about your next step. Ah, relief! Everything is solved! Everything has come together! What used to be hard will now be SIMPLE, all problems are solved! There’s a lot of unmoved grief and frustration and rage in that reaction, and it’ll invite reversals later on. What happens if you change your whole life to embrace this new pathway, and then… things don’t work quite the way you expected? Or it’s not as comfortable as you thought it would be? This is very common.

But if it’s a Clue… ah, that’s much better. Because you still have an excuse to be a Detective. You are one step closer, that’s all. You gumshoes can continue to sleuth. Accept the clue, as something that must be a truthful part of the eventual solution.

The mystery, of course, is life itself. Our ever-changing hunt to solve our own internal mysteries, of becoming the most fully realized versions of ourselves.

I love Clues. They’re signposts for the next step. Then I rush to them, because I’m hungry for more clues. But I know the mystery isn’t solved yet. I don’t declare to the room full of people, or to myself, that I have the answer. But feeling closer to it is enough – the motion is enough.

As for where I get the clues from? Well, I imagine it’s from the Great Leggy Dame in the sky.